Waste-To-Energy Foundation Repair

Yoe was hired by a waste-to-energy incineration facility in Morrisville, PA to repair the foundation of an ash expeller in preparation for an equipment replacement in the span of a single two-day weekend.

The primary challenge for this project was to meet the extremely tight deadline to replace an expeller and repair the underlying foundation over the course of a weekend to not disrupt normal weekday business operations. Further, the equipment replacement happened over the winter and conducting the concrete foundation repairs in time for the materials to cure enough for the new equipment to be placed presented an extra hurdle for the Yoe team to overcome. Project complexity was further increased by the need to create an accurate template to place the new bolts into the foundation in the exact right pattern to accommodate the new expeller.

The Yoe team understood the planning for this project required numerous meetings in advance to ensure they had every logistic hurdle covered. To complete the repairs to the concrete foundation with enough time for it to cure and install the 22 bolts for the new expeller correctly within two days and in coordination with the other contractors who were removing and resetting the expeller required careful coordination every step of the way. Once the old expeller was removed from the foundation, Yoe’s team conducted all the required repairs and tented the area to protect the foundation from the elements. The team then piped in heat to keep it warm enough for the concrete to cure. Prior to the concrete repairs, though, they enlisted their Steel Fabrication shop to build a template for the anchor bolts for the new expeller. The team was able to use the steel template to drill the holes and install the new bolts in time for the other contractors to replace the equipment.

Yoe’s careful pre-planning coupled with in-house steel and concrete expertise served to help the team overcome extraordinary scheduling challenges, weather complications, and logistical concerns to successfully repair the foundation of an ash expeller at the waste-to-energy facility over the course of a two-day weekend. Yoe truly values their partnership with this client and looks forward to repeating this successful turnaround on another expeller swap in February of 2022.